


The Power to Destroy

by Mello_Drama_Reborn



Category: Future Card Buddyfight
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic, Drabble, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, but still full of Immortality Angst and self-worth issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2017-08-12
Packaged: 2018-05-26 23:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 11,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6260380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mello_Drama_Reborn/pseuds/Mello_Drama_Reborn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"Love is giving someone the power to destroy you, but trusting them not to."</i>
</p><p> </p><p>After Yamigedo's defeat, Miserea decides to become Davide's buddy so he can reform him.<br/>(Series of short 1-3 chapter drabbles. <b>New! 6 more chapters!</b>)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this a few weeks ago, and I could wait until the end of Hundred and write it to be totally canon compliant, but I like what I've written so I'm just going to post it with my very mistaken idea of what Yamigedo's defeat would look like.  
> Don't let it bother you.

 Yamigedo let out a final cry as it was engulfed in the light of the Omni Lord’s spell- finally sealed away once more.

Everyone looked around, meeting eyes with the friends that’d helped them get this far, and a few started to cry with the realization that it was all over.  
The school was already returning to it’s original state- stone receeding as the threads outside dissolved and fell away. Under them, it felt as if the whole world was rejoicing- like they could hear the cheering of everyone still in the shelters.

Drum was the first to pause, turning to the revived Tenbu with questioning eyes.

“So, what are all the Omni Lords going to do now?”  


“Just as we did before,” the booming of the long dragon’s voice still felt like victory in itself, Gao’s relieved sobs growing louder, “we will stay on Earth, and wait until we are needed once more.” Tenbu looked around at the other Omni’s, all of them meeting his eyes and nodding in turn. “Some of us will go into hibernation, or hide away. Others will continue to live side-by-side with humanity.” His gaze stopped on Miserea, and he nodded as well. “Though after all this, I doubt there’d be a way to do so discretely for a few lifetimes.”  


Miserea only smiled along as the great dragon laughed, a sound full of the mutual celebration they all felt. Still, Gao looked over at him, and that he could find the energy to be concerned for him after all he’d done, and in the thick of their rejoycing, filled him with pride. 

“Do not worry, Gao-kun.” He gave his most encouraging smile, watching relief move into his friend’s features. “It’s true that I’ll be recognised from now on, but even so, I’ve made many wonderful friends in this lifetime- I want to continue sharing in your lives, and to make many more memories with all of you.”  
Drum gave him an approving nod, and Miserea’s smile widened, his own eyes going watery at the thought of the future. “The bond between you and Gao-kun has made me think- I’ve spent many lifetimes as a human, maybe it’s time I remembered what it’s like to live as a buddy monster again.”

“Buddy monster? Does that mean you’re going to find a buddy, Kiri?”  


“That’s correct.”  
Miserea watched with amusement as Drum and Gao exchanged suprised looks.  
“As tempting as it is to ask you, Gao-kun, I already have someone else in mind. I won’t be getting in the way of the bond between you and Drum- and anyway, that’s something I want to discover for myself.” Gao looked slightly disappointed, even as Drum nodded understandingly. “We already have our own bond, different than between monster and buddy. So Gao-kun, don’t worry,” he moved closer to place a hand on Gao’s shoulder, “I won’t be going far.”  
Gao gave him his brightest grin, and when Miserea turned to smile at Drum, he did the same. Miserea felt his own smile widen, an understanding silence falling between them as Miserea again thought how grateful he was for the friends he had made- who loved him and fought beside him as both human and omni.  
Tetsuya took that moment to canonball into Gao’s back, grabbing him into an energetic hug, and Miserea allowed him to end their conversation there, drifting back through the crowd toward the room’s entrance.  
Rouga was standing at the edge of the doorway, a satisfied smile on his face that dropped neutral as Miserea approached. 

“Where are you headed?”  


“I want to check on those we left behind. They must be returning to normal by now.”  


Rouga crossed his arms, mouth starting to turn down into a frown.

“I heard what you said to Mikado… You’re not doing what I think you are, are you?”  
Miserea gave him a knowing smile, saying nothing as he continued towards the entrance, but Rouga moved his spear to block his way.  
“He’s not worth your energy, Kiri.”  


“I think it’s because everyone believes that that he’s the way he is.” He lifted the spear verticle, and Rouga didn’t give any resistance as Miserea moved past it.  


“… Aren’t you worried what he’ll do with the power of an Omni Lord?”  


Miserea stopped, looked down into the darkness of the descending stairwell and saw his future at its bottom.

“Part of loving someone is being willing to trust them, even with yourself.” Miserea looked back, and when he did he met understanding eyes, contrasted by the warning frown. “I won’t be helpless to his whims, Aragami-senpai. Whatever we do, we’ll do together.”  


Rouga finally turned away, giving a dismissive sigh.

“Well, love can make you do stupid things. Don’t let him convince you to do something you’ll regret- or you’ll be doing it for eternity.”  


“Not quite eternity, but I’m aware of the stakes.” He offered one last smile of reassurance, even with Rouga no longer watching him. “Thank you, Aragami-senpai. I’ll be careful.”  


He got no reply, and without any more hesitation, Miserea discended into the depths underneath the school.

  


With the labyrinth back to normal, there was no way to know where those turned to stone before had been placed, and Miserea followed the first sign of life he felt. It turned out to be Noboru, making his way back the way Miserea had come. 

“Oh, Kiri!” He stopped, catching himself as he looked over Miserea’s form. “Whoops! I meant, uh, Omni Lord sir. Sorry.”

“Kiri is fine.” He gave him a smile, and Noboru grinned back gratefully. “I’m glad to see you’re alright.” 

“Yeah! So, this means you won, right? The world is saved?”  


“It does. Gao and the others are up ahead.”

“Sweet, thanks!” The look in his eyes stopped Miserea from asking his next question, Noboru seeing it before it was out of his mouth. “I’ll call the others- most of us know our way around down here, so we should be able to meet up without help. As for that Davide guy, ” Noboru cocked his head distastefully over his shoulder, eyes not leaving Miserea as his mouth moved into a scowl, “he seemed to know you’d come down here. He’s waiting up ahead.” Miserea nodded, eyes already focusing on the path ahead of him, but Noboru didn’t move to end the conversation.  
“Before you go… I heard what you said, about being jealous of my friendship with Gao.” Miserea’s eyes moved back to Noboru, the latter suddenly looking bashful. “The thing is… I’m kinda jealous of _your_ friendship with Gao! You got to be on the same team as him for a while, and got to go on all these adventures and learn buddyfight with him while I was in America most of the time!”  


“Noboru-kun…”

Noboru gave a frustrated sigh, shaking his head.

“He’s changed a lot since he’s started playing this game, most of it for the better, and you know a side of him that I don’t.” When he looked up to meet Miserea’s eyes, there was no bitterness in them, his face wearing a heavy smile. “Anyway, I won’t hold you up any longer. Thank you- all of you, for saving us.”  


Noboru ran past him before Miserea could find a proper reply, and after a moment he let him go, facing ahead again as he focused on the goal in front of him.

  


Miserea hesitated at the entrance to the cavern- inside, Davide was sitting on a large rock, phone in hand. His expression was bored, and slightly on edge, and Kiri wondered if he was really certain of his safety- isolated from the rest of the world and unable to see it returning to life, unable to see the monster he failed to serve now lifelessly sealed away.  
And then he smiled. It was a smirk, but with none of the malice of the threatening sneers he’d directed at him publically, and in a moment it turned into a _laugh_.   
The sound was childish, and strained- full of weakness and fear he was trying to forget, and the moment made Miserea all the more sure that he was far more complex than the strictly evil person he made himself out to be- that he was someone with motives, and weaknesses, and _dreams_ \- someone who, like all people, was precious.

“I’m so glad you’re alright!”  


Davide jolted as Miserea sighed the words into his shoulder, gathering him into his arms until Davide recovered enough to shove him away, moving his phone into his pocket.  
“What’s so funny?”  


“Nothing- just Youtube videos, how did you sneak up on-” he gave a glare to Miserea’s feet, hovering soundlessly off the ground. “Anyway, the hell do you want?”  


“You were the one waiting for me, Davide- shouldn’t I be asking you that?”  


“Ugh, always messing with me, you really do piss me off.” He shifted away from him, and Miserea drifted back to give him some space, wating expectantly for the answer to his question. Davide gave an irritated sigh, his earlier defeat driving away his usual bravado. “So, is Yamigedo really gone, then?”   


“He is. Everything is returning to what it was.”  


“Damnit, we really did lose to you guys, then.”  


Davide scowled at the wall, and Miserea’s mouth dropped into a frown.

“Are you not glad to be alive?”  


Davide spat a noise of disagreement, letting it stand on its own before glancing at Miserea to bristle under his concern.

“What the hell do you care!? You only came here to give me another lecture, right? About how all this proves that you were right and I was wrong.”  


“That’s not true- I came to offer you something.”  


Miserea moved in closer, but Davide just crawled back, looking at him warily.

“Offer me what? A lecture?”  


“No- I want to offer you power, the kind you appreciate.”  


“Oho!” Davide leaned in now, mouth moving into a devilish grin. “And what might that be, oh great and generous Omni Lord~?”  


Miserea smiled, large and gentle, and Davide’s own grin faltered slightly at the sight of it.

“Myself.”  


For a moment Davide just stared at him, face twitching as he struggled to find the meaning of the answer, waited for the punchline- and then he spluttered as Miserea’s expression stayed as it was, sincere and patient.

“W-wha-what??”  


“I want to stay with you, as your buddy.”  


“You, my-? Whoa, wait- I already have a buddy, I have Deathgaze!”  


“There’s no rule that says you can’t have more than one buddy.”  


“I don’t even play Dungeon World!” Miserea let out a laugh, and Davide scrambled to his feet, pointing down at him from his perch on the rock. “There, see? You just laughed- this is all some sort of joke, right?!”  


“No, it’s just that it doesn’t matter what kind of deck you play!” He laughed again, and Davide grimaced, realizing his mistake. “I’m an Omni Lord, I can be played in any deck.”  


“I knew that!” Davide sat down again, frowning with embarrassment. “But there’s still no way you’re serious about me being your buddy- I mean, seriously, after everything I’ve done, not even _you_ are stupid enough to give me that kind of power.”

“I am serious.” Miserea’s smile turned into a challenge, the change in expression catching Davide’s attention. “Would you like me to prove it to you?”  


Davide thought a moment before smirking, cocking his head to make his smile look even more loopsided. 

“Sure.”  


“All right. Put out your hands.”  


“Okay~, should I close my eyes too?”  


Davide opened his hands in front of him, grinning like he’d called his bluff.

“No need.”  


In a flash of light, Miserea shrunk into card form, Davide’s eyes widening as the glowing card floated over and laid itself in his palms.  
Davide just stared at it in wonder, power radiating off where it touched his skin, and after a moment his slack-jawed expression moved back into a smile, adreniline making his breath shake as realization hit him.

“Y-You really are serious…”  


“I am.”  


His voice came from within the card, sounding both distant and intimately close, and the sound brought a shiver through him as he moved his hands closer to his face.

“You’re so defenseless like this, I could do anything I want with you!”  
The card said nothing, and Davide started to laugh, picking the card up to pinch one corner between the fingers of each hand. He felt card tense between his fingers, but Miserea stayed silent, and his laugh began to shake as he twisted the paper, waiting for the point where Miserea would give- blink back into his true form and retaliate.  
Instead, an almost silent wince echoed through his head as the paper gave, and at the feeling of it tearing Davide threw it away, eyes widening with horror as Miserea took form once more.  
“Are you okay!? Why did you let me do that!? You could’ve stopped me!”  


Miserea smiled at him, unable to fully hide the pain from his features.

“I wanted to trust you.”  
Davide looked at him wordlessly, hands moving in an aimless expression of panic and confusion, and Miserea’s smile strengthened slightly.  
“And I was right to. Once you knew you could do anything you wanted, you didn’t want to do wrong.”  


“I- you coulda- I coulda torn you to pieces!” Miserea just nodded, and Davide’s disbelief turned desperate, his voice breaking. “Why do you want to be my buddy!?”

“Because you understand me. Because we’re alike.”  


“Alike? No way- I’m not like you, I’m not some insecure brat who gets upset over whether people like me or not- I don’t care what people think of me!”  


“Then why are you so eager to prove I can’t love you?”  
Davide winced, and Miserea moved closer, ghosting a hand up Davide’s arm to rest it lightly on his shoulder.  
“Or should I say, to prove you’re unlovable? Because if you weren’t, then you’d have to regret all the times you were cruel or pushed others away, you would have to see those actions as wasted chances.” His hold on Davide’s shoulder tightened, and Davide raised his eyes to look at him, for once looking helpless to talk back. “Because rejection hurts less when it’s a foregone conclusion, rather than something with cause, right?”  


“Shut up!” Davide slapped his hand away, curling in on himself. “Maybe a monster like you could like me, but no person could!”  


“That’s my point though- that’s not true!” Miserea reached for him again, and when Davide moved to bat away his hands, Miserea intertwined their fingers instead, smiling wide. “Believe me, I am far from the only one on this planet capable of loving you.”  


Davide stared at him, mouth slightly open but nothing coming out but his shallow breaths, until finally he let his fingers curl in against Miserea’s hands.

“... You’re crazy.” He looked away, and Miserea felt his smile fall.  


“Davide...”  


“Prove it.”  
Miserea let out a noise of confusion, and Davide scowlled with embarrassment, fingers digging harder into Miserea’s knuckles.  
“Prove to me, like you did today, that I’m wrong.”  


Miserea let out a breath of relief, squeezing his hold as well.

“So, you’ll let me stay with you?”  


“Well, it’s not like there’s anyone here, is there?”  


“Thank you, Davide!”  


“Oh, shut it! Don’t you thank me- I’m going to use this as an excuse to make your life a living hell! And don’t think I’ve given up on making you hate me, either!”  


Miserea let out a laugh, releasing Davide’s hands, which he promptly wiped on the front of his jeans. 

“I look forward to getting to know you better, my buddy.”  


“Ugh!” Davide jumped off his rock, crossing his arms. “Don’t ever say that again- just hearing it gives me shivers.”  


“What, you mean ‘my buddy’?”  


“Ugh- you little-!” Miserea laughed again as Davide started stomping away from him, only to stop and turn towards him with irritation. “And lead me outta here, would ya?! Why would a school have its own dungeon, anyway?”  


Miserea smiled, moving to take his hand again, and ignoring the yanking on his arm as he tried to pull away, began to lead them out of the dungeon.


	2. Chapter 2

Davide cringed to see that Miserea had led them to where everyone was gathered, rather than the secret entrance outside.  
The whole room seemed to tense when he came into view, and while his own body answered, he felt Miserea’s hands fall over his shoulders.

“Kiri! Don’t tell me you actually asked him to be your buddy?!”  
Rouga’s anger was a familiar tune, and one he’d heard often after converting Kiri to Disaster- Davide could think of a million ways to stoke his protective aggression, but he let Kiri answer instead- knowing it'd win him a far more enjoyable reaction.

“I did, yes.”

Davide couldn’t help but snicker as everyone’s expressions turned hostile, a bit of nervousness leaking into the sound as he scanned the crowd of buddyfighters.

“No good will come of that, Kiri!”

“It wasn’t too long ago that you made a very unlikely ally, Aragami-senpai.” The sound of Miserea’s reply over his head made Davide laugh harder, barely able to hold himself together at the sight of his old ally wincing. “I’ve made my decision.”

“Kiri, are you really sure about this?”  
It was Gao this time, and Davide couldn’t help but make a little “ohh!” sound, but Miserea’s hands on his shoulders didn’t tense against his skin. 

“I am.” Gao’s face twisted in confusion, and this time Miserea’s fingers curled affectionately into Davide’s shoulders. “As his buddy, I hope you’ll give him a chance.”  


Davide felt Miserea looking down at him, and suddenly he knew that this was the first test- the first step of Miserea proving his point, and suddenly he was determined to blow it, one hand reaching up to grab the one on his shoulder and yank it downwards, Miserea letting out a suprised yell.

“As if you would though, right? You’ve always been a fan of forcing your values onto others, especially Kiri here.” Miserea started to object, but Davide only yanked on his arm again, his wince cutting him off. “And you wouldn’t be wrong this time- as his buddy, I plan to make him earn the _misery_ his name resembles!” Davide started to cackle at his own joke, feeling Gao’s frustration on him from across the room.  


“Kiri! You can’t be seriously be willing to go with this guy! He must have tricked you again somehow!”

Davide glanced back at Miserea’s expression, another wave of laughter bubbling up his throat at the sight of his pained expression. His next thought forced the sound out of him, and with a smirk he put out his hand.

“Looks like your little friends here doubt your sincerity, Kiri. Looks like you’ll have to prove it to them, like you did with me.”

Davide licked his lips as Miserea stared down at his open palm, eyes narrow. Davide felt his body shiver with another wave of adreniline as he wondered what he would do, half-hoping that he’d finally crossed the line, but when Miserea sighed and shrunk into his card form Davide laughed with triumph, snatching him out of the air.  
There was a collective gasp as Davide waved the card in his hand proudly, and Davide thought he was starting to feel light headed from all his giggling, grinning as he inspected Miserea for the tear from earlier.

“Ohh, that’s too bad. Looks like it healed.” He felt everyone’s eyes follow his movements as he gripped a corner in both hands again, starting to twist the paper between his fingers. The whole room readied for battle, but a shout from the card made them freeze, Davide’s smile cracking wider.  


“Everyone, please! Stay back! He won’t harm me!”  


“Won’t harm you!? Kiri, he’s ready to tear you apart!”  


“Please, none of you stop him, he’s only testing you. Trust him for me, please.”

“Only testing?” Davide gripped the card tighter, scanning the room of conflicted, deliciously helpless faces. “Kiri, what if I only held back back there for this- the chance to tear you apart in front of all of your friends?”

“I trust you, Davide.”  


Davide grit his teeth, the unwavering calm in his voice making his stomach turn. 

“What are you all waiting for!? Are you going to stand there and let your friend get torn to pieces just because he told you to!?”  


Tasuku started to push towards them, but Rouga barred his way with his spear, smirking as Davide let out a growl.

“Relax, Tasuku- don’t let him goad you.”

“What do you mean!?”

“I mean Kiri’s right. We’ve got him scared now.”

Davide’s arms were trembling now, his mind willing them to move but body freezing, still remembering the feeling of the paper ripping, Miserea’s pained smile flashing in his vision like a preventitive curse. 

“Uggh-! This isn’t them trusting me, Kiri- they’re trusting you!”  


“I’m not the one with the power here, Davide.”  


Davide let out another frustrated groan, deafeatedly throwing the card away.

“Forget it! It’s no fun if you’re not going to struggle!”  


The whole room sighed with relief, Miserea reforming with a smile as Davide began to push through the crowd that’d gathered to make for the exit to the lecture hall. 

“Thank you, everyone.”  
Davide ignored the relieved exclamations of everyone rushing to Miserea’s side as he started up the stairs, escape unable to come fast enough.  
“Davide, are you leaving already? Wait for me!”  


“Oh, don’t bother, just let me go!”  


“Davide,” Miserea lifted upwards past those surrounding him, easily floating across the length of the room, “you called yourself my buddy back there.”  


“Just forget it, okay?! I’m sick of you!”  


Miserea was already at his side by the time he’d reached the door, turning to wave a cheerful goodbye to his friends before the door stole them from view.


	3. Chapter 3

“This is where you live?”  


Kiri looked at the small apartment building, grey and fronted by a dreary metal staircase.

“I can’t believe I let you follow me home.”  


Davide started climbing the steps, not bothering to check if Kiri was following him. When he unlocked the door to a second floor room, it opened to a dimly lit but clearly unorganized living room- even large pieces of furnature toppled onto their sides. Davide stepped inside without a hint of alarm, nearly shutting the door in Kiri’s face while he stood there taking it in.   


“Where are your parents?” Kiri couldn’t help but grimace as he looked over the state of the entryway while slipping off his shoes, leaning to glance inside the other rooms.   


“Not here.” Davide turned to frown at the pity forming on Kiri’s face, scoffing as he turned away. “Left ’em. Got sick’a them tellin’ me what to do.”

Kiri let out a sad hum, stepping in further and righting a lamp lying on its side.  
He thought about how Davide had known exactly what to say when he felt helpless against the whims of what he thought was his father, wondering what kind of family Davide had. His mind wandered to Kyoya’s ideals, of taking power away from adults and giving it to children, and Kiri thought of all the adults that likely had power over him- his parents, his teachers, the police and the buddypolice, and he imagined Davide feeling frustrated with the lack of power he had over his own life, imagined him feeling so helpless that he had to run away and live on his own just to have some sense of agency. 

“Whatever you’re thinking about, stop it.” Davide’s voice broght him back to reality, head raising so he could meet his irritated glare. Davide held his gaze a moment before turning away, opening a door to a room even more cluttered than the entrance.  
“Deathgaze! Did’ya bail on me when the world started ending, buddy?!”  


Kiri stepped into view of the doorway in time to watch Deathgaze slither out from under the blankets of Davide’s bed, metalic head turning to gaze out the window.

“... Looks like you failed, on that account.” It raised its head further, turning to stare past Davide at Kiri. “... _Really_ failed, by the looks of it.”  


“Oh, shut up, this is my trophy.” Davide pointed a thumb back at Kiri before glancing back at him, his eyebrows raising after a moment as a thought struck him. “Speaking of which, where are we going to put you?”  


“Put me?”  


“Yeah, like, at night. I don’t have a spare futon.”  


“Oh.” Kiri looked down as Deathgaze slithered over to him, rising off the ground to examine him. “Well, where does Deathgaze sleep?”  


“He’s found a place at the foot of the bed, the little creep.”  


Deathgaze’s head shot towards Davide. 

“You know I’m cold blooded.”  


“Yeah, in more ways than one! It’s not my fault if I kick you in my sleep!”  


Deathgaze’s tail rattled with irritation, stopping as it turned to Kiri again, head moving and bowing as it looked him over.

“You always had a.... delicious scent to you, but it’s become more powerful now.” Its head rose questioningly at Kiri, and he gave it a knowing smile. “I see. So you’re not human after all.”

“I hope you don’t mind sharing your buddy with me.”

Deathgaze tossed its head, shaking it casually.

“I got over that angst when he started using Hundred Demons. Besides, this arrangement.... interests me.”

“Speaking of arrangements!” Davide sounded neglected as he drew their attention back to him, hands on his hips. “I still don’t know what we’re doing with you tonight!” 

“Well, Gao always talked about how he shared a bed with Drum, and it looks like you do the same thing with Deathgaze, so-”  


“No, absolutely not, bed’s full!”  


“-it was so funny when he talking about having Axia over, apparently the three of them had to squeeze together!”  


“Forget it!” Davide looked ready to throw his hands in the air, instead looking over Kiri with a raised eyebrow. “Look, do you even- do you have a mini form, or something?”  


Kiri looked down at Deathgaze at his feet, much smaller than he appeared in battles, before looking down at himself.

“The only forms I can take are this, Miserea, and my card form- which I guess makes this my mini form.”  


“Ugh, and you still-?” Davide put a hand to his face, turning to look at his bed with dread.  
Kiri glanced down at Deathgaze before starting to smile, creeping up on Davide and wrapping his arms around him. 

“It wouldn’t be so bad, right~?”  


“Ugh! Why you little-!” Davide nearly leaped out of his arms at contact, quickly turning to shove him away. “No, gross, stop!” Kiri laughed as he was pushed away, Davide falling back on the bed looking ehausted.  
“Ugh, this sucks! Today has been crazy enough without having to deal with you, I just want to sleep, alright!?”  


“Do you have any spare blankets, at least?”  


Davide shot up at the suggestion, grinning with realization.

“I do!”

He started fishing underneath the bed with his foot, Deathgaze rattling out a groan.

“Oh no...”  


“Oh _yes!_ Even if _you_ wouldn’t use it, maybe this time my ideas will get a little appreciation!” He dragged out a wad of sheets, blankets separating and falling away as he began to unravel the mess of cloth. “Here, there’s probably enough of this to make a decently comfortable mat, or something.” He tossed the bundle at Kiri, who looked to Deathgaze for an explanation.   


“He wanted me to sleep curled up in those, like a luandry heap.”  


“It was not- it was a nest, and it was very thoughtful of me!” Davide only stuck out his tongue in reply to Deathgaze’s irritated rattle. “I thought it was very snakey- but you abandoned my nest and hijacked my bed instead!”  


“I’m not a _snake_ , I’m a dragon!”  


“Yeah, well you look more like a ssssnake!”  


Kiri laughed as he began to arrange the sheets beside Davide’s bed. 

“I never imagined you two had such a noisy dynamic!”  


Davide just shrugged his shoulders, before looking down at what Kiri was doing.

“What- are you seriously setting up camp right here?” Davide frowned at the proximity to his bed, but Kiri just hummed innocently as he put down another blanket. “...Ugh, I really do hate how you’ve grown an attitude.”  


  


Darkness came quicky, the small room drenched in shadow as the three settled down to sleep. Kiri listened to Davide let out an exhausted sigh as he lay down on his bed, the pale light from the window reflecting on Deathgaze’s plates as it slithered past his feet, culring up the bedframe to slip underneath the blankets.

“Davide.”  


“Ohh, what do you want?”  


Kiri couldn’t help but giggle a bit, giddy with the simultaneous impression of a sleepover and the knowledge of reality.

“Tomorrow is the start of our new life together.”  


“Ugh.” Kiri could hear the covers rustle as Davide turned away. “Go to sleep.”  


“... Goodnight, my buddy.”  


“I _told_ you not to call me that.”  


Kiri let out another quiet laugh, his mind wandering to the future that lie ahead of him, already feeling miles away from the fight with Yamigedo, and he felt his eyes water slightly at the thought that that future had almost been stolen from them that day.

“... I love you.”  


“Ugh!”  


Kiri thought he might have heard movement from Deathgaze’s portion of the bed, but the other buddy monster evidently decided to remain silent, and, satisfied, Kiri finally closed his eyes, focusing on the sound of the others’ gradually slowing breathing.


	4. Rest

Davide woke up to the uncomfortable feeling of being watched, frown digging into his cheek as he turned his face into his pillow. His foot searched for Deathgaze, skin finding cold metal and earning him a warning shake of its tail that shifted the covers. Groaning, he pulled them back into place, but as he did he realized the eyes on him didn't belong to his buddy, and finally a creeping panic forced him to open his eyes.   
He did, and then, he screamed.

“You! You were watching me sleep!”

Miserea blinked back into reality, Davide baring his teeth against his startled expression. 

“I’m sorry, I assumed you were the type to sleep in late.”

“You’re apologizing for getting caught, not for being a creep!” Davide scrambled back against the wall, Deathgaze raising its head in irritation at his sudden movement. “And why’re you in that form, huh?”

“Oh,” Miserea looked down at himself, morphing back into his child form, “I started watching over you when I realized I don’t really require sleep, but it felt odd to remain awake through the night while in human form.”

“That’s so pointless, and stupid, and- ugh!” Davide threw the covers away, the heavy blankets burying Deathgaze as he pushed past them both. 

“Wait, Davide,” Kiri rose to follow him, Deathgaze’s form slithering under the covers to find the lingering warmth left behind by his buddy, “do you want me to help you with breakfast?” 

"I don't eat it." Davide threw himself on the couch, turning on the small television to be immediately greeted by the image of Yamigedo terrorizing Cho-Tokyo. "God damn, could I get even a minute to wake up before having to remember all that?"

Kiri moved past him to the kitchen, starting to go through the sparse contents of his fridge while listening to the news play in the background.

_"There was a suprising lack of damage to the city itself, and the government is quickly working with the buddypolice to repair their damaged equipment. Nonetheless, Japan has declared a national day of rest and recovery for its citizens in the wake of this near-armageddon. Schools around the country are cancelled, and famillies-"_

“Speaking of which, what are you going to do about school?" Davide raised a hand over the edge of the couch to get Kiri's attention, speaking mostly to drown out the report. "Going to go back to Aibou or whatever?”

"I plan to stay with you." Kiri emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of rice topped with an egg, which Davide pretended not to notice Kiri place on the table in front of him. "As I am now, I don’t think any children would feel comfortable learning alongside me, and as I’ve recovered my memories, there’s no reason to continue my elementary education.”

“What do you mean, with me?”

“I mean you’ll bring me with you in card form, like most buddy monsters are.” He gave him a small smile, turning to watch the television switch to a shot of the Omni Lords juxaposed against their Inverse counterparts.   
“... A day of rest and recovery, huh?"   
He turned back to Davide as the reporter started listing the identities of the fighters that had fought on the side of Yamigedo, just in time to catch him wince at the sound of his name. "While I'd like to solidify my place here as your buddy, perhaps we could both use some time to recover as well. Time apart, I mean.”   
Davide turned to look at him, understanding slowly rising beneath his features. Nodding, he turned away, his eyes unfocused as the looked at the screen.  
“... Would now be a good time?”

"Sure, get lost."

Kiri lingered a moment before stepping back from the couch, leaving without a sound. As soon as the door shut, Davide allowed himself to curl up, body trembling as he let the previous day’s events finally sink in.

 

Miserea returned to Cho-Hodaka, seeking its isolation as he had when he fled from his duties as an Omni Lord. There, he finally let himself fall apart- break the calm with which he had barely held himself together through the strain and the fear of the battle with Yamigedo. He let himself think the thoughts that had haunted the back of his mind - the possibility of losing everyone that day - and with the thought, the wave of his restored memories crashed over him.   
He wept for a long time, remembering each treasured friend, lover, and adopted family member he'd made over the span of centuries, and mourning them one by one.

 

The house was dark now, the only illumination coming from the television as it once again panned over the image of petrified people- buddypolice, Omni Lords, children. Davide didn't want to hear it anymore, but he couldn't find the strength to turn it off- his head pounded with his panicked thoughts from back then, when the world went grey but his mind remained awake, concious to the passage of time but unable to keep track of it. He realized that unlike Kyoya, Yamigedo's vision for the world didn't have any new society to rise out of the ashes of the old - no humanity to rule over, no new world where he could get a better lot in life. He'd started counting his regrets, wishing he'd done something with his last moments, said something worthwhile or even just screamed- because in those last seconds, Kiri and Rouga were looking at Noboru; because he heard when Sofia decided not to revive him, because he realized that even his old so-called "friends" from Disaster didn't care about him, and if they weren't going to care whether he lived or died then the least Yamigedo could've done was give him the mercy of death. Instead, he would be stuck motionless and alone on a lifeless planet until the sound of his own thoughts drove him insane.  
 _"The children using the Inverse Omni Lords were reportedly possessed by Yamigedo- many of them familiar faces from last year's ABC and Gaen cups. These loved and respected fighters fought against their will, and did not allign themselves with-"_  
Yeah, because what idiot would know what was going down and go along with it? Back then he'd actually missed Shido- so clueless that he probably didn't even realize the cause he was supporting, and it took Davide's mind off it too- all he wanted was to be on the winning side, with the fancy new toys and the cool powers- and he wanted to prove he was evil, to the core.  
Villians are real idiots when they support the cause of their own death.

Davide didn't notice the sound of the door opening, didn't realize he wasn't alone until he felt Kiri's arms around him, equal parts offering and seeking comfort.

"I'm home."  
Davide ignored the dryness in Kiri's voice, pushing him away, and Kiri moved off him without complaint, his eyes moving over the scene in front of him.  
"... You ate?" 

He remembered the empty bowl on the table in front of him, giving it half a glance.

"... Deathgaze ate it."

He could feel Kiri frown without seeing it, arms snaking around him again as small hands found and clasped his.

"Davide, I haven't forgotten your answer to my question yesterday." Davide didn't have any idea what the hell he was talking about, but the hold around him grew uncomfortably tight, the sensation making him want to tear himself away. "I truely believe that each life on this planet is precious; that your existance, just as much as any other, is a miracle-" Davide began to struggle, but Kiri only tightened his hold, and Davide's hunger-weary limbs gave in. His mind attempted to escape by retracing their previous conversations, trying to find what question he'd referred to, but as he felt himself being constricted his mind only raced in circles, Kiri's breakdown forcing away the numbness he'd built over his own fear.   
"-because if I lost you too, I wouldn't be able to bear it, I-!"

"Kiri!"   
Kiri's words stopped, only his sobs drowning out the quiet droan of the televsion. With the quiet, Davide's thoughts gradually slowed down, and after a moment he pushed Kiri off of him as he pushed himself into a sitting position, suddenly awkward as they sat together in silence, Davide simply watching as Kiri wiped the tears from his face. 

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have come back until I'd regained control of myself, but I remembered, and I just..."  
"I'll eat." It came out flat, Davide feeling oddly detached as he looked at him. "I'll eat, okay?"  
Kiri nodded, still wiping tears from his eyes, and Davide got up and went to the fridge, the furthest thing from hungry as he looked through its contents.

Kiri watched him as Davide sat back down to eat, and Davide ignored him, content to let him speak up when he was ready. Instead, Kiri grabbed him around the shoulders again, sighing with exhaustion as he pressed his forehead against his shoulder.

"I love you."  
Davide tried to wrangle him off, but Kiri only shifted his position, pressing closer to him.  
"I love you, and I'm so glad you're alive."

He froze as it finally clicked- the question Kiri was so upset about, an exchange he hadn't even given an answer to, and what to him had had to been the least important part of their conversations from the night before:  
 _“Are you not glad to be alive?”_

"... You're the last person who should be saying that." He turned to look over Kiri's face, eyes and cheeks red from crying, and quickly diverted his gaze, looking back to his food in an excuse to break eye contact. "Aren't you a mess right now because of the memories I forced on you?" He hadn't failed to catch the "too" in his earlier tirade- he'd trained himself to catch little details like that, especially when everything else was the last thing he wanted to listen to. "You wouldn't be going through any of that if we never met up again."

"... It hurts. It's unbelievably painful." His hold tightened again, and Davide tried to ignore the feeling of tears against his skin. "But part of the reason my heart aches is because I allowed myself to forget them for so long- to run away from their memories and bar those I cared about from my heart." He'd started to tremble now, his hild growing painfully tight. "I thought it would feel good to cry for them, but once I started I realized there was no end to it, as soon as I felt relief I would remember something else and-"

"Hey," Davide moved an elbow to pry him away, face free of sympathy, "I'm not really in to mood to take your angst right now."

"You're right, I'm sorry..."

His hold loosened slightly, and Davide elbowed him further.

"You're making it hard to eat."

"Right..."

Kiri got up, and after lingering a moment, moved to Davide's room.   
Davide sat alone for a moment before finally getting up and turning off the tv.

 

"Where's Kiri?"

Deathgaze lifted its head as Davide entered the room, barely visible except where the dim moonlight reflected off its scales.

"On the roof."

Davide mumbled confusion to himself as he climbed onto his bed towards the window, opening it and craning his head out in a vain attempt to spot him.

"... Hey! You there?"

"Yes, I'll be just a moment!"

At the sound his answer, Davide let himself fall back on the bed, watching as Deathgaze slowly lowered itself back down as well.  
For a moment he thought of waiting for him- but he longed to stop thinking, exhausted despite barely moving all day, and without putting up any more resistance he closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	5. Restless 1

Davide wasn't a heavy sleeper, but it took his sleep-heavy brain a second to proccess the sound. It started as a moan, growing in discomfort until it was a strangled cry, confused but miserable.  
Davide looked over the edge of the bed to see Kiri writhing, arms outstretched to grab at the air, and without a second thought Davide reached out to him.

"D-Don't-! Dont leave me-!"  
Davide jolted back as Kiri grabbed onto his arm, grip desperately tight as his eyes flew open. For a moment he only stared at the ceiling, struggling to breathe through his sobs, and then he released him, mouth slightly agape.  
"...I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Forget it."   
Davide tugged on his arm, but when Kiri let go, Davide just offered him his hand, Kiri taking it and allowing his shakey form to be pulled onto the bed with him.  
"Is this why you decided to stop sleeping?"

"... It is. Nightmares are quite common for me now." Kiri looked down into his lap, slightly tense as Davide pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed with him.

"What'd you dream about?"

"... I'm not sure, really. Everything was mixing together and nothing really made sense." Davide only gave a nod, and Kiri looked up at him hesitantly, struggling to make out his expression in the darkness. "Davide, why are you-"

"He's used to it."   
Kiri jolted at the sound of Deathgaze's voice, but Davide just tsked, hiding his face.

"Go back to sleep, Deathgaze."

"Stop screaming, and I will."

Davide scowled, turning back to Kiri to look away from his buddy, and Kiri continued to watch him, a hesitant question on the tip of his tongue.

"Um, Davide?" Davide's eyes lifted to meet his, and Kiri felt himself look away with shame. "If it's alright, could I sleep with you tonight? It just makes it easier, with another person nearby-"  
Davide let out a groan, turning to lay back down, and Kiri watched him with confusion, not sure if he had misheard the relenting tone in his voice.  
After a moment, Kiri slowly moved forward, giving Davide the chance to correct him at the feeling of weight shifting on the bed, but Davide didn't make any moves to stop him as he laid himself down.  
"...Davide?" Davide only grunted, and slowly Kiri put on a smile, feeling his body relax at the warmth of another person. "...Thank you."  
Davide didn't say anything, and Kiri let the silence remain until he thought Davide was asleep, finally closing the distance better them to curl against him, whispering into his back.  
"I love you."

"... Go to sleep."

Kiri jolted at the reply, but after a second he laughed, cuddling closer and closing his eyes, his mind drifting to warmer memories.


	6. Restless 2

Kiri bolted upright as a scream ripped through the quiet, half-memories of wars and disasters racing through his head as he jumped to his feet. 

"He's asleep."

Deathgaze barely shifted to look at Kiri, barely audible as Davide let out another unconcious scream. Kiri winced at the sound, momentarily unable to process Deathgaze's explanation through his horror. The next strangled yell brought him to action, quickly moving to his side to shake him and barely doging the fist that flew at him in response as Davide jolted awake in wide eyed fear.

"Davide!"

Davide turned, gaping at him for a startled moment before throwing another fist at him.

"Shut it! Get away from me!"

Kiri moved off the bed, backing up to the wall as Davide hit his fist against the mattress, slowly calming his ragged breaths. He stayed silent, and as his breathing evened and his body started to relax, Kiri stepped forward again, hands wringing with concern. 

"... Can you sleep?"

For a moment Davide pretended not to hear him, Kiri waiting silently for his answer, until finally he sighed, lowering his head as the strength drained from his body.

"Forget it. I'm not sleeping."  
Kiri stayed where he was, watching him anxiously before Davide motioned him over, still not raising his head to look at him as Kiri inched closer to sit down beside him.  
"You don't sleep, right? Tell me a story."  
As soon as he sat down, one of Davide's arms found his way around his shoulders, his head falling to lean against him.  
"You were a big deal in Dungeon World before you came here, right? What's it like?"  
Kiri couldn't help but stop at the feeling of Davide leaning against him, the level of intimacy odd after the distance he'd kept so far. Davide seemed to take his silence as reluctance, tightening his hold to squeeze his shoulders urgingly.  
"Come'on, I want to hear about Kiri the monster."

"Davide," Kiri raised a hand to fall over Davide's, squeezing it lightly in his own, "you don't have to pretend you're not afraid."

"Shut up, just forget that, okay!?" Davide let go of him, face falling into a scowl, and then something flashed in his eyes, hostility waning. "I'm asking you to distract me, alright?"

Kiri's eyes widened with the unfamiliar feeling of Davide's trust, and he nodded. Davide's face relaxed back into a tired frown, his arm falling back around Kiri's shoulders as he fell against him again.  
Kiri leaned into his touch, voice soft as he reached back into his memory- before he had ever walked on earth, before he became an Omni Lord.  
Eventually, Davide fell asleep on his shoulder, and at the sound of his shallow breathing, Kiri gently lowered him back onto the bed, hesitating before laying down as well and pulling the covers over them both.


	7. Memories 1

Living with Miserea was tolerable as long as they were occupied- Davide rarely stayed in the house, keeping his mind off himself by investigating others, memorizing their problems to forget his own, to get the leverage he needed to get by. Miserea kept himself busy trying to stop him, and together they passed the hours relatively harmlessly.  
Doing that was impossible right now, though- the storm outside was bad enough that even Davide wasn't willing to leave, and unfortunately that meant that Miserea was left idle. And when he was idle, he thought.

Davide hated it when Miserea got like this. His expression was blank, eyes fogged over in the way he did when he was reaching back in his memories- when he got like that he was no longer in the present, might as well be a corpse for how absent he was.  
And when Miserea thought, Davide thought. Davide had long ago trained himself to see the pain behind others eyes- to catch the invinsible fliching that told him where he could press to hurt them the most, and now that skill was a curse, pain being the only piece of clarity on Miserea's expression. And so Davide thought about all the memories of loss he'd shoved back into the omni lord's head, how he was essentially going through a clinical depression because of him, and how that far-off look might well be him trying to escape to some time where Davide didn't exist- and why wouldn't he? Sounds like a better place to be.  
He hated beating himself up over things he didn't regret, things he wouldn't need to feel bad about if the consequences weren't currently moping in his living room- because yeah, it doesn't feel great to having a living reminder of how awful you are lodge up with you.

 

"Why don't you just seal away your painful memories again?"

"... Sometimes, I ask myself the same thing."

Something about the exchange bothered him, flared an unconcious fear he didn't understand and didn't want to be aware of.

But with nothing else to do, he thought.

 

"Hey. You going to bed?"

Davide watched him from the doorway to his room, but Miserea didn't move away from the window, wherever his mind had taken him too far away for him to hear.  
Davide tapped his foot impatiently, his phantom fear flaring up like an omen, but while he was on the cusp of understanding now, he didn't want to, and without another word he shut his door.

 

He's not sure when his thinking turned to dreaming.  
He remembered when he tried to crush Kiri under the weight of his own memories, where instead Kiri searched them, found a reason in them to say that he loved him.  
He remembered when he'd convinced Kiri to take the dark core- by stoking his resentment against his parents, his friends, his classmates- who he hated enough that he took revenge upon the world, stealing buddy monsters the same way his own cards had been stolen. 

He'd forgotten that Kiri knew how to hate.

He realized that Kiri could hate again, hate over stupid and petty things, and all it'd take is to make him human again- no, all it'd take is him losing whatever memories had taught him not to.  
The memories of loss. 

Davide wasn't sure when his thinking turned to dreaming, turned to nightmare, until he bolted awake in mindless terror. He panicked, and as he tried to calm himself, time gave his fear reason as he realized Kiri hadn't tried to wake him this time.

He leaned over the edge of the bed, but Kiri wasn't on the floor. 

Desperation and irrational panic pushing him, he kicked at Deathgaze, metal edges digging into the skin of his foot as the black dragon lifted its head.

"What the hell is it?"

"Where's Kiri!?"

"I don't know. I've been _asleep_."

"You never saw him enter the room?"

"No."

"God damnit!" He pulled the covers off him, limping out of the room to throw open the door, desperately searching the darkened house.

Deathgaze knew immediately he didn't find what he was looking for when he heard the toppling of furnature.


	8. Memories 2

The first day, Davide didn't do anything- maybe Kiri just ran to Gao or whoever to cheer him up.

The second day, maybe it was just a sleepover that ran too long. (He was trying to fight his earlier panic- be a more rational version of himself. It felt fake.)

The third day, he pretended he didn't care.  
So what if he'd been right- hadn't getting Kiri to hate him always been his goal? It's not like he needed him as a buddy either- Deathgaze was awesome, and he liked being alone. (That was a damn lie, and feeding himself his own bullshit tasted as bad as he expected.)

The fourth day, he started searching.

He tried Aibou, Fumiya Daini, Card Castle, even Kiri's old house. After the fifth day he stopped bringing Deathgaze with him, in case Kiri stopped by the house while he was out. He was even desperate enough to try Cho-Hodaka, spending the day wandering around the small town and the mountains before exhaustedly taking the trip back to the city- a waste of travel fare he didn't really have. 

It'd been a full week, and he finally made himself try Mikado's house- the ultimate admittence that he was worried.  
Of course he knew where Gao lived- he'd done his homework to learn about Yota, and even if he hadn't, the Mikado dojo was a public business with his name right on it. He'd hunted down harder to find people.

"Huh, Davide?!"

"Have you seen Kiri?"

Gao looked shocked to see Davide on his doorstep, especially with how ragged he must've looked, but the concern that'd seeped through the crack in his voice seemed to soothe any hostility from him, even if the sound made Davide want to clock him for daring to have ears.

"I'm sorry, he hasn't visited recently."

"Has something happened to Kiri?"

Tasuku Ryuenji peered over from behind Gao's shoulder, and Davide let out a sigh of frustration. 

"Great, I just had to stop by when all your buddies were freeloading." He shook his head, forcing himself to keep his cool. "No, this is good, I was stopping by your place next anyway. Hey, buddycop!" Tasuku seemed suprised to be addressed, eyes widening as they fixed on him. "My buddy's missing, find him for me."

"I'm sorry, I'm not working with the buddy police anymore..."

"What? You've gotta be frickin' kidding-" he kicked the wall in frustration, Gao jolting at the impact. "Fine, well, I don't think I'm exactly welcome in buddy cop HQ, so you go and get your flunkies searching for me."

"Didn't you say you were headed there next?"

Davide flinched, fist clenching so his nails dug into his palms.

"Look- I'm not exactly thinking clearly right now! He's been gone for a week!"

Tasuku and Gao looked at each other, concern plain on their faces.

"Did you do something to-" 

Tasuku gave Gao a glare, cutting him short by stepping in front of him. 

"Did you two get into a fight recently?"

"Ugh- I didn't _do_ anything!" He felt himself tense harder, the blunt of his nails digging harder into his skin. "I didn't say anything to him! He's just- he was just thinking too much! Idiot!"

Gao gave Tasuku another look, Davide barely holding back the urge to punch him, but Tasuku silenced him with another glare.

"We believe you, but searching for Kiri might not be as simple as the average missing buddy case." At the first phrase, Gao's eyes widened, and Davide immediately realized what was happening- why Tasuku was so intent on helping.   
_"Trust him, for me, please."_  
"Finding an omni lord is no easy task, and with the crisis with Yamigedo still settling, people will panic if the police start asking around for one."

"So you're saying it's okay if he just goes missing!?"

"Most of the others already have. We trust they can take care of themselves." Tasuku frowned, and the more he pulled the whole 'sympathetic authority figure', the more Davide wanted to clock him as well. "Did he really not say anything to you? It seems unlike him not to take tell anyone if there wasn't an obvious cause."

"He wouldn't've, if... I think he wanted to seal away his memories again."

"What!?" Gao pushed his way forward, eyes wide with too-familiar panic. "There's no way he'd do that without telling anyone! Besides, he promised he'd make more memories with us!"

"Tch, forget it, you obviously don't know anything." Davide turned away, gritting his teeth. "Maybe this is his way of getting back at me- going so far as to leave his friends in the dark just so I don't have anything to put my mind at ease. Guess it's not hard to be cruel when you're going to forget it all anyway."

"Davide, wait." Davide whipped around at the feeling of a hand on his wrist, tearing his arm away as he met eyes with Tasuku again. "Kiri told us to believe in you, so I want to believe you didn't do anything to hurt him. If that's true, then you need to believe in him too- believe that has a good reason for this, and that he'll definitely come back."  
A movement caught his eye, and Davide looked past Tasuku to see Jack nodding. Looking further, he could see Drum giving him an intense stare from Gao's side at the doorway. 

Davide met Drum's eyes for a moment, and then he turned away, leaving without another word.


	9. Memories 3

The house was frustratingly empty when he entered, dark and in dissary, and Davide kicked an upended chair as he entered, sending it toppling towards the opposite wall.  
He'd already torn the place apart, no longer an option for wasting the time away- but even if he hadn't, the act of destruction had been ruined for him. He couldn't look around the room without imagining Kiri quietly righting the fallen furniture, the image making his stomach turn as he quickly retreated into his room.

"Guessing you didn't find him?"

Deathgaze's head slowly rose, eyeing him from his place at the edge of the bed.

"Shut it."

Davide moved to the bed, leaning to glance out the window despite himself and hissing when he saw no one in front of the house.

"I don't see why you're so upset about this- he was amusing, yes, but I didn't think he mattered that much to you."

"I said _shut it!_ "

Deathgaze uncoiled itself, continuing to speak casually even as it moved to make more distance between them.

"It just seems odd to me that you'd let yourself get so easily attached. You should know better than anyone how much of a weakness that is."

"If I wanted your opinion, I'd ask for it!" Davide shot his buddy a glare, body tensed to strike, but seeing Deathgaze ready for it made him change his mind, instead opting to lean against the wall and bury his chin in his knees.

"... If he does seal away all his painful memories, he'll completely forget about me, won't he?" Deathgaze didn't reply, but Davide could feel it settle down again at the foot at the bed, which was excuse enough to keep talking. "I mean, it's not like I'd be in any of his other ones."

"Are you suggesting he's simply forgotten to come back here?"

"... I guess, I was wondering if we could start over."

"You sound like someone with regrets," the blankets shifted as Deathgaze drew nearer again, "another dangerous thing to possess."

"Get away from me."

His buddy's approach halted, and after a brief pause he retreated again, this time slipping off the bed completely and sliding out the door.

 

His nightmares had intensified over the past week, as if in hopes that Kiri would return to shake him awake. Every time he instead awoke by himself he felt disgustingly vulnerable, and he spent more of those nights awake than asleep, knowing what would become of him if he dared to nod off.

Davide stopped searching. The initial panic was no longer enough to move him, and he no longer had the energy to do much else except try to forget him. He was disgusted with himself for going as far as he did, for panicking as much as he did, for making it obvious how used he'd gotten to the idea of having him around forever when it was obvious that he didn't deserve it.

And yet it was the moment he decided to give up that Kiri returned.

 

"I'm home."  
Davide froze at the sound, coming from behind him as he lay uselessly on the couch.  
"Davide?"

"He's probably out again searching the streets for you. You've made quite the desperate fool of my buddy."

Deathgaze slithered out of Davide's room to greet him, the sight it finally bringing Davide the strength to raise himself.

"Shut it, you dumb snake, you know perfectly well where I am!"

Deathgaze's head tasted in his direction, sneer audible in its voice.

"... See what I mean?"

"And you!" Davide ignored Deathgaze's comment to turn pointedly to Kiri, a million questions filling his brain, "Where the hell have you been!?"

"I'm sorry, I got lost."

"You got _what?_ "

Kiri walked around to the front of the couch, gazing sadly at Davide before diving into his chest, Davide freezing again as he felt arms wrap around his waist.  
His voice frozen in his throat, he sat stiffly as Kiri pressed in against him, turning slightly to help lower him onto the couch next to him.

"All right, just tell me what happened."

"... I went looking for a place in my memories."   
Davide really wished Kiri would let go of him, acutely aware of the stiffness in his arms as he wondered where to put them. "I found it but couldn't recognise it- its name had been changed, the hills I remembered flattened, even the river that used to run through had been rerouted... I couldn't accept that the place from my memory no longer existed, so I kept searching, until finally I was forced to accept that history had taken that time from me."

"Sounds like a familar story- or, one that might've happened."

Davide shot a glare to Deathgaze, who turned to slither back into Davide's room, though Davide had no doubt he'd continue easedropping.

"I'm sorry, I was too stubborn to turn back, even to tell you where I went. It felt like leaving would mean it was truely gone forever." Finally Kiri raised his head, Davide's arms unconciously moving to hold him as they seperated, as if scared to let him go. "But I realized something. I realized that I don't want to forget- that my memories, the good and the bad, are the only things keeping them alive now- the people I knew back then, my friends..." He bowed his head, and Davide lowered his arms, catching himself. 

"... Give me your phone."

"What?"

"Give it."

Uncertainly, Kiri dug into his pocket for his phone, and Davide snatched it up without looking at him, mumbling to himself as he punched in his number.  
"A buddy monster with a phone, geez..." His own phone buzzed, and he tossed Kiri's back to him as he dug it out. "Look, I don't care if you run off to visit your little nerd herd, but from now on you're going to tell me before you go on any long walks down memory lane." Kiri's phone buzzed, and he opened it up to see a text from Davide, a short but blunt insult. "You're my buddy. You don't get the luxury of forgetting that to escape to some other lifetime a billion years ago."

"Davide..."

"And for the record, I didn't frickin' care that you were gone."

"LIES!" Deathgaze laughed from behind the bedroom door, and Davide picked his fallen notebook off the floor to throw it, Deathgaze's laughter only growing louder at the impact. It was only then that Kiri seemed to notice the state of the room, looking over it sadly before getting up to and beginning to clean it, and Davide couldn't help but turn away at the sight, suddenly uncomfortable with the feelings it gave him.

"... You should probably tell Gao you're back. He knows you've been missing."

He could feel Kiri turn to look at him, and with a huff he got up, avoiding meeting his gaze as he made his way to his room, picking up the journal he'd thrown before slamming the door shut behind him.

"Dead buddies tell no tales, you know."

"And I have oh-so-many to tell."

Deathgaze slithered onto the bed as Davide let himself fall on it, grabbing a pillow and burrying his face in it.

"That's right, you can smile now."

" _Shut it._ "

"Are you sure you don't want to go back out there? What if he decides to leave again while you're in here?"

"We're about to have one less storyteller if you don't shut up."

"Well, if you're not going to keep him company, perhaps I will."

"DEATHGAZE, DON'T YOU DARE-"

Kiri was already facing the door when the two burst out, Davide nearly tripping over Deathgaze in its effort to stop his advance.  
For a second, Kiri just stared at them, Davide suddenly wondering how much of their conversation he heard.  
Then, he laughed, shoulders shaking as he hid his face with his arm.

"It's good to be back."

He wiped his eyes, and Davide realized he was crying. He took an uneasy step forward before stopping, frozen with confusion. As Kiri began to wipe his tears away, smile visible behind the arm in front of his face, Davide settled on closing the distance between them, roughly grabbing him with his arm and bringing him to his chest.

"Whatever... Welcome home."

 

That night, Kiri looked down to see his improvised bedding was no longer on the floor.

"Nope, you're up here now."

Davide awkwardly pat the bed, and Deathgaze stiffled a snicker, quickly dodging the foot that shot out to quiet it.

"If you decide to sneak off in the middle of the night, I want to be the first to know."

Davide turned away at the sight of Kiri smiling, but still reached out to take him as he lowered himself into bed, Kiri obediently rolling into his chest. Immediately the feeling he'd felt before came back to him- the realization that Kiri was really, truely back, and he tightened his hold, relishing the feeling that he was actually _there._

"Davide, you've gotten so disgusting," Davide kicked out, but Deathgaze had curled itself around the banister out of reach, "and not in the good way you usually are."

"Shut up."

"Do you want me to give you some privacy?"

"Sure! Hang out with Joker on the roof, maybe he can tell you some jokes."

"Ugh."

Kiri giggled as Deathgaze slithered away, and Davide tried his best not to think about what it must be thinking.

"Davide,"

"Shut it."

"... I love you."  
Davide said nothing, but Kiri still laughed at the way Davide tensed around him, snuggling into the crook of his neck.  
"Goodnight."

Davide only let out a silent sigh, resting his chin on Kiri's head as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


End file.
